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Ravels in Review

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This week will no doubt go down in your minds and blogger history as being that of my birthday. Good–please remember that next May 26.

  • As I learned in doing historical research, historically few great things have happened on May 26 aside from my birth.
  • I wrote about my experience buying art (none) and some of the difficulties of buying art on a budget. Just a note: the gallery called my boyfriend back yesterday to say that the work in particular that I had liked was available.
  • The Hernan Bas show at Lehman Maupin predicts the future to be lush and lonely, and that says a small part of how much one could say about the artist’s most recent paintings.
  • Lastly, I was so struck by an old book that accidentally came into my hands that I had to share the artist/author Eugene Fromentin’s extremely dated travel book of Dutch painters with you. He is in rapture over Rubens and Rembrandt. Hero worship like his doesn’t exist anymore in criticism, maybe to our loss.

On the other hand, Fromentin is not so kind to his contemporary (1870s) art scene in France. The Impressionists, apparently, have no sense of value or line or color, and only Corot and Delacroix are worthy of respect. In fact, let me leave you with a few more of his words;

Landscapes make every day more proselytes than progress. Those who practise it exclusively are not more skillfull in that account, but there are more painters who try it. Open air, diffused light, the real sunlight, take today in painting, and in all paintings, an importance which has never before been recognized, and which, let us say it frankly, they do not deserve.

Photographic studies as to the effects of light have changed the greater proportion of ways of seeing, feeling, and painting. At the present time, painting is never sufficiently clear, sharp, formal, and crude.

The abuse of useless roundness has driven into excess flat surface, and bodies without thickness. Modelling disappeared the very day when the means of expression seemed best, and ought to have rendered it more intelligent, so that what was progress among the Hollanders is for us a step backward; and after issuing from archaic art, under pretext of new innovation, we return thither.

Ah, Ravels in Review

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My fingers are relieved to take a bit of a break this week (perhaps you’re relieved not to be presented with a long, involved post ; ) . I’ve gotten into some topics I find super interesting.

We kicked off the week with a proposal against taking photographs of artwork in museums, which got some agreement, certainly some disagreement, and a lot of mixed feelings. It stuck in my mind, and I revised my opinion to allow that instead of being evil and stupid is was perhaps a sign of engagement with an artwork.

We played a game matching the artwork to its auction house estimate. Nobody won, so I’m keeping the $1M prize. In fact, even the auction houses didn’t win; they still have their two biggest works by Picasso and Giacometti.

I had the pleasure of seeing the musical South Pacific at Lincoln Center, and then having the song Honey Bun in my head for the whole week.

In fact, that annoying song is probably why I got a little contentious in my post on the Affordable Art Fair, contributing to my backhanded praise of the store Urban Outfitters for so cleverly following the pluralistic trends evident at the fair.

And my personal pick of the week was on the use of writing in painting, especially as it evolved during Modernism. Anyways, thanks for a fun week guys, and have a good weekend!

Ravels in Review May Day!

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It is the first of May, which means many beginnings, Spring, outdoor activities, my 26 day birthday countdown, and last but not least–that my parents are visiting me this weekend! Their visit came off to a good start, with the 10 course tasting menu at Degustation last night, or if not, they were too stuffed and pickled to complain. Despite vowing last night not to eat for the rest of the month (luckily last night was the last day of April), we have more eatings planned, some museum goings, and some theater. I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile what were we talking about this past week? Aside from a rather lame Monday, when I suffered from some of the less innocuous effects of summer, I talked about two gallery shows in Chelsea, Picasso at Gagosian being absolutely requisite (I hope to bring my mom tomorrow) and Louise Fishman being well-worth seeing, especially if you like textured, thickly-painted abstract canvases. I do. While you can’t actually go see the recent installation in the atrium of the Guggenheim by Ann Hamilton, you can see my video of her Human Carriage and the applause it generates.

We’ve also had some fun discussing the huge, new ArtPrize being offered and the populist way it’s being decided and a billboard takeover in New York City. This street warfare between advertisers and artists wasn’t entirely successful; I hear that most of the billboards have already been reclaimed and painted over by companies.